THE RAILWAY WORKSHOPS.

Evening Star, Issue 3291, 6 September 1873, Page 2

THE RAILWAY WORKSHOPS.

The following telegram appears in this morning’s Guardian :—In answer to a question by Mr Reid whether the Government has decided on the site for the central workshops which may be required in the construe • tion and repair of plant for the Otago railways, and if so, where the site had been selected, and on whose recommendation the selection was made, Mr Richardson said the hon, member was quite correct in stating that a considerable amount of interest had been taken in this matter in the Province of Otago. The question as to a site for railway workshops bad been raised some time ago. The place first mentioned as a suitable site was Green Island, as it was not thought desirable to erect such workshops in the heart of the City. A. good deal of discussion had taken place upon the subject, and it was suggested that the site should be changed to a place near the gasworks in Dunedin. The reason why that particular site was selected was, that the Government had not then got possession of the Port Chalmers railway works, but since that railway had been taken over by the General Government, the matter was brought under his notice, and two or three sites had been suggested to him. The En-gineer-in-chief recommended as an eligible site the place known as Mussel Bay, situated

abont half-a-mile from Port Chalmers. Since the Engineer had reported to him, he waited upon the Superintendent and members of the Executive in Dunedin and talked the matter over with them, and from the information he received and the various arguments brought forward, particularly the fact of its proximity to the Dry Dock, he consented to the site recommended by the Engineer-in-Chief. It contained some three or four acres of landTenders bad been called for and received, and it was proposed to accept the lowest offer, as it was a very favorable one. The four acres would be reclaimed for less than the price put upon the one-acre site in Dunedin by the Provincial authorities. A considerable quantity of land—quite as much, probably, as the Provincial authorities would be disposed to hand over for the railway works—would be required for cattle stations and other purposes. It was considered desirable that the workshops should be erected as far from the town as possible, and the site recommended had been decided upon, and it was intended to build the workshops there.